| WindowsForDevices.com 2007 survey results |
by Jonathan Angel (Mar. 7, 2008)
 The results of WindowsForDevices.com's 2007 Embedded Market Survey are in! Overall, they show that Windows-based technologies continue to be the most popular with our readers, but Linux is making some dramatic inroads. Meanwhile, ARM-based CPUs are wresting increasing market share from x86-compatible processors.
As in the past, we encourage readers to draw their own conclusions from the complete survey response data. The survey was not held during 2006, but comparisons with 2005's summary findings are interesting, as is detailed response data from years past.
Please note that while we make every effort to increase result validity by limiting responses to a single submission per IP address, respondents are self-selected, and we have minimal control over multiple or dishonest voting. Also, there were only 100 responses to the 2007 survey (we had 172 in 2005), making the results of limited statistical significance. Further, our market share results are not meant to reflect upon the commercial success of individual companies. For commercial marketshare figures, WindowsForDevices.com recommends VDC, EDC, IDC, ABI, and Gartner, among other capable sources.
Still, the survey data provide an interesting snapshot of "where WindowsForDevices.com's readers are at." So now, our latest observations . . .
Windows dominates, but there's no room for complacency
As you might expect from a survey staged by a Windows-specific website, Windows dominates. When we asked respondents which OSes had been in their companies' embedded designs during the past two years, Windows-based technologies were 61.5 percent of the total. So far, so good, but that was down from 2005, when Windows had 65.7 percent share.
Which OSes have been in your (company's) embedded designs during the past two years?
(Click to enlarge)
Most surprisingly, Windows XP Embedded (XPe) was down from 16.6 percent share to 11.4 percent, a decline of approximately 30 percent. However, Windows Mobile essentially held steady, while Windows CE was up 12 percent, with approximately 24 percent share. The big winner, however? Linux, which went from 13.2 percent share to over 19 percent, a 45 percent gain.
Windows CE and Mobile are on the march, but can hear Linux's footsteps
If Linux has been on the move for the last couple of years, what will the next two bring? When we asked respondents which OSes will be in their companies' embedded designs during the next couple of years, 21 percent picked the Penguin, a 45 percent gain over 2005. In the 2005 survey, only 14.5 predicted they would use Linux, yet, as the previous question demonstrates, actual adoption was even higher, at 19.1 percent.
Which OSes will be in your (company's) embedded designs during the next two years?
(Click to enlarge)
Here, too, we see XPe lagging. It was planned for adoption by more than 20 percent of respondents in 2005, but has now fallen to just over 14 percent, a decline of more than 30 percent. However, Windows CE is up by 10 percent, with 25 percent share, and Windows Mobile figures in more respondents' plans too, with more than a 19 percent share.
ARM-based processors are on the way up ...
Answers to our next question provide a good clue as to why XPe might be faltering, while Windows CE and Windows Mobile continue to grow. The former, of course, requires x86-compatible processors, whereas Windows CE and Mobile run on the ARM-based CPUs typically found in phones and other specialized devices. When we asked respondents which CPUs had been in their company's embedded designs during the past couple of years, 35.7 percent chose ARM, StrongARM, or XScale. This outpaces x86, used by only 30.1 percent.
What CPU(s) have been in your(company's) embedded designs during the past two years?
(Click to enlarge)
... and ARM continues to grow
There's no danger of x86-based CPUs dying out anytime soon, but ARM-based processors will continue to be the star performers. That's the conclusion to be drawn from our next question, which asked respondents which CPUs they expected to be in their company's embedded designs through 2009. More than 36 percent of those answering picked ARM, and only 28 percent picked x86.
What CPUs do you expect to be in your company's embedded designs during the next two years
(Click to enlarge)
Extrapolating from the survey results, one might expect ARM-based processors to be adopted even faster than respondents predict. That's because in 2005, just under 30 percent of respondents said they expected to be using ARM between then and 2007, yet, as revealed by the previous question, actual adoption was more than 35 percent.
Slowing adoption?
Our last survey question asked respondents how likely they, or their company, were to be using embedded Windows technologies during the next couple of years. About 71 percent answered "highly likely" or "likely," whereas nearly 80 percent gave similar replies two years ago. Similarly, 19 percent answered "unlikely" or "highly unlikely," up dramatically over the 5.7 percent who answered similarly in 2005.
How likely are you (or your company) to embed Windows technologies in the next two years?
(Click to enlarge)
Further information
Additional survey questions asked about the size of respondents' companies, what type of solutions they provide, and what factors had the greatest influence on their choice of operating system platforms. For more information, look at the complete survey response data, here.
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